I looked at the recipe in disbelief. NINE eggs? Surely that was a misprint. Only 3/4 cup flour in a cake? Not likely. As I studied about coconut flour, though, I saw that, yes, it does take that many eggs to make a successful cake with this healthy type of flour, and it takes a much smaller amount of flour.

Coconut flour, as we talked about yesterday, has lots of fiber and is extremely absorbent. It also has no gluten, which makes baking with it a challenge. The info I found says that if you are substituting coconut flour for white flour in a recipe, you can’t use cup for cup. You have to use 1/4 to 1/3 cup per cup of grain-based flour. Also, you have to use about 6 eggs per cup of flour just to make your baked goods hold together.

I tried this recipe, and was delighted with the results. It’s moist and tasty — and guilt-free. The flour and the large number of eggs make this low glycemic and high in protein. There is a lot of fiber in the cake, lowering the GI index number even more. I made it with coconut sugar, which also gives it a lower number than a cake with white sugar. With the coconut milk frosting, it was a real treat!

My grandsons were visiting yesterday when I tried this recipe, and they gave it a two-thumbs up — although two of the three kids didn’t care for the frosting.

Here is the recipe:

Coconut Flour Chocolate Cake

Ingredients

• ½ cup coconut oil

• ¼ cup cocoa powder

• ¼ cup coconut milk

• 9 eggs

• 1 ½ cups sugar or alternative (I used coconut sugar)

• ¾ teaspoon salt (Himalayan is best!)

• 1 teaspoon vanilla

• ¾ cup sifted coconut flour

• ¾ teaspoon baking powder

Directions:

1. Melt coconut oil in a saucepan over low heat.

2.Add cocoa powder and coconut milk and mix together. Remove from heat and set aside.

3. In a bowl, mix together eggs, sugar, salt, and vanilla.

4. Stir in cocoa mixture.

5. Combine coconut flour with baking powder and whisk into batter until there are no lumps.

6. Pour batter into greased 8x8x2 or 9x9x2-inch pan.

7. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes or until knife inserted into center comes out clean.

8. Cool and cover with frosting, (optional) of your choice.

Here is the frosting I used: http://blog.beliefnet.com/beyondgorgeous/2012/04/1458.html

So you can have your cake — without wearing it on your hips. Just don’t eat the whole thing!

Once there was a famous tight-rope walker. He stood before a huge crowd by Niagara Falls, preparing to do his most daring feat.

“How many of you believe that I can walk across Niagara Falls on this tightrope?” he asked the people gathered there.

“We believe you can do it!” they shouted.

So the guy got up on the rope and started across the falls. Far, far, below he could see the water thundering down the cliff. If he fell, it would be instant death. Fearlessly, he kept walking – all he way across Niagara Falls and back.

“Now, do you believe that I can walk across this tightrope pushing a wheelbarrow?” he asked the enthusiastic crowd.

“Yes, yes! You con do it,” they screamed.

So the tightrope walker took his wheelbarrow and effortlessly pushed it across the slippery wet rope high above the water.

The crowd went wild, clapping and cheering.

“Now,” the man said, “For my most dangerous trick. I’m going to push someone in my wheelbarrow across Niagara Falls. How many of you believe I can do it?

“Yes, we believe you can do it!” the crowd shouted.

“Okay,” said he said. “Who will be my first volunteer?”

Total silence. Everyone believed that he was able to do it – but they didn’t believe to the point of trusting their lives into his hands. They didn’t believe enough to get into his wheelbarrow.

Can you guess why I’ve told you his story? It’s because this lesson is about faith.

Is faith just believing something is true? No, it’s more than that. It’s believing to the point of surrendering your life. Faith isn’t just knowing that Jesus is the son of God – that He lived a perfect life and died on the cross for the sins of His people. It’s more than knowing – it’s believing to the point of trusting you life to Jesus.

Once when Jesus was with his disciples, Peter had an opportunity to learn about faith. I’m sure it was a lesson he never forgot. Jesus had been speaking for hours to a huge crowd of people. At last He sent them away and told the disciples to take the boat across the Sea of Galilee. He went by Himself to a mountain to pray.

Late that night a storm came up. A strong wind blew and giant waves tossed the little boat around as if it were a toy boat. The disciples were afraid they would sink – and then something happened that made them forget about the storm.Out on the waves they saw a person – and that person wasn’t in a boat. He was walking on the water.

“Aaaah – It’s a ghost,” they cried in terror.

“Don’t be afraid,” Jesus said, “It is I.”

“Is that really you, Lord?” Peter called out. “If you are really Jesus, tell me to come to you on the water.

“Come,” Jesus said.

With his eyes on Jesus, Peter climbed out of the boat and stepped into the raging sea. He stood up – he was doing it! He was walking on water, too!

Then as he was walking, he took his eyes off Jesus and looked at the waves shipped high by the howling wind. He began to be afraid and started sinking into the water.

“Lord, save me!” he cried out.

Immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught Peter.

“Oh, you of little faith – why did you doubt?” Jesus asked him.

Peter’s answer isn’t in the Bible – but I think we can figure it out. He doubted because he took his eyes off Jesus. He looked at the waves and began to wonder whether Jesus really was the Son of God. Did Jesus really have power over the storm? Suddenly Peter wasn’t really sure. He started sinking because He lacked faith.

Sometimes we are like Peter. It’s one thing to believe that Jesus is God and that He can protect us and guide us in the right way. It’s something else when we believe it to the extent that we surrender our lives to Him.

Yet, that’s what faith is – it’s taking ourselves out of our own keeping, and entrusting ourselves into His keeping. If He says to go – we go. If He says to speak – we speak. We don’t worry about what will happen to us, because we are His and it’s His business to protect us. That’s what true faith is all about.

When we read in the Bible, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in Him should hot perish but have everlasting life,” we see Jesus talking about the surrendering kind of belief.

Believing in Jesus and trusting His sacrifice to save you – surrendering you life to Him – that’s what salvation is all about. It’s not just praying a prayer, or going to church. It’s giving up to God.

It’s getting into Jesus’ wheelbarrow.

Do you have that kind to faith? Or are you like the crowd who believed the man could push that wheelbarrow across the Falls – but wouldn’t get on and ride. They didn’t really believe, did they? Do you really believe in Jesus?

“We asked 150 Parisians how they knew they were through with dinner,” food psychologist Brian Wansink, PhD, said. “They said, ‘When we’re full.’ When we asked 150 Chicagoans that they said, ‘When the plate is empty.’” *

No wonder 2/3 of American adults are overweight and half that number is obese. We don’t stop until the food is gone!

If we are to get our eating under control, we need to learn to listen to the cues our body is giving us and get out of the habit of eating as long as the food holds out. Here are some ideas for eating on purpose instead of mindlessly.

If you don’t need to eat it — don’t buy it! Yes, you are buying it for visiting grandkids, but who is really going to eat it? Offer the kids an apple, instead.

Don’t read, watch television, or get on the computer while eating. Just eat.

Eat with a fork.

Take small bites.

Chew your food.

Make a vegetable tray or fruit the most accessible food in the kitchen. If you do eat without thinking, eat something good for you.

Cook only the amount you need. Don’t cook a huge casserole if there are only two of you to eat it.

These are just a few ideas to break the automatic eating habit. Each one is painless, and you probably won’t even notice the missing food. You will notice the way your clothes fit better, though!

Eating to live and living for Christ,

Susan Jordan Brown

*Quoted by WebMD from a speech at the American Psychological Association’s annual meeting, Washington D.C., August 5, 2011. “Modifying the Food Environment: From Mindless Eating to Mindlessly Eating Better.”

Buy plenty of good, healthy food and don’t even go down the cookie aisle. In fact, most of the smart food will be on the perimeter of the store. Stick to your list and don’t buy food you shouldn’t eat.

Don’t stop there. Prepare the food when you are at your strongest point. Are you at your best in the morning? Fix up your snacks then and have them ready in the fridge, or packed in a brown bag to take with you. Put dinner in the crockpot. Make sure you are ready for the day and have your bases covered.

Maybe your strong time is in the afternoon or evening. Do your preparation then.

Also, take a look at your schedule. Take control of your day before it takes control of you. Plan ahead to pace yourself and not get too tired. We can’t help but get stressed or lonely sometimes, but we can take steps to deal with the issues in our lives so they don’t overcome us.

He who fails to plan, plans to fail. So make some plans — and plan to succeed in a life that is vital, fulfilling, and active — beyond gorgeous.